Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)

Will the Minister comment on the statement by the Irish Kidney Association which she quoted that the situation in the dialysis unit at the Mid-West Regional Hospital in Limerick is appalling? The IKA has blamed the Health Service Executive for the situation that has developed there. Does she agree that the overcrowding in Limerick has been reported and well documented during the years? This inevitable situation which has been highlighted many times to the HSE arose because of a lack of foresight by the HSE. The Minister informed us that she had invited tenders, but does she agree that tendering for dialysis services from the commercial sector — I presume she was referring to that sector — could take up to 18 months to implement? Will she comment on a proposal that the mobile dialysis service in Tullamore should be moved to Limerick when a new hospital dialysis centre is commissioned there in July?

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